This Week in Weird, Oct. 31

Friday

HORNELL, N.Y. -- Halloween is the time of year people appreciate disguises — as long as it’s not a fire.

Hornell firefighters and police were called to a home at 12:22 p.m. Tuesday for the possibility of a house fire.

A call came into the 911 center from a woman at a pizzeria across the street from the home issuing smoke.

When firefighters and police arrived minutes later, they found a man testing a smoke machine on the front porch. The machine was part of a Halloween display he had in his front yard.

“People have to be aware that everybody nowadays has a cell phone. People see smoke and they are going to call 911,” said Captain Brian Tingley.

Tingley was one of four firefighters in two fire trucks who responded to the call. Firefighters blocked traffic momentarily when they arrived.

“We came over the bridge and saw a lot of smoke, but I thought it was too light colored to be anything,” said Captain Steve Lamb. “We told him (the home owner) to take it easy, there was an awful lot of smoke.”

Would-be robber fails twice, escapes

CANTON, Ohio -- Police are looking for a man who, failing to rob a check-cashing store, tried to carjack a woman and rob her of her purse before running in to a local Wal-Mart store.

Detective Aaron Williams of the Canton Police Department said the would-be robber initially walked into a Check Into Cash store about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, jumped over the counter and demanded money.

But the armed security guard there chased him outside and into the nearby Wal-Mart parking lot.

Williams said the man then ran up to a woman getting out of her car and grabbed her from behind. He demanded a ride, but she refused, so he then tried to steal her purse.

Again, he failed.

The man then ran inside the Wal-Mart store where security cameras caught him leaving through the automotive section and escaped.

Golden retriever delivers 16 puppies

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- When the mother arrived at the hospital Monday morning for the scheduled C-section, overweight from carrying her offspring, she looked extremely uncomfortable.

"She had swelling in her legs from all the pressure the babies put on her," said Dr. Marianne Martin, in charge of the delivery. "The mother's due date was Halloween, but she was so pregnant, we had to take her early."

Two surgery technicians and five assistants helped Martin with the delivery. They were prepared for multiple births. After an X-ray four weeks ago, medical personnel stopped counting at 12.

"That's like two litters," said Indya Sheehan, owner of all the golden retrievers. "A normal litter is between six and 10. I think the record is 23, but that was a mastiff or a St. Bernard - never a golden."

The 10 males and six females weighed in between 13 and 14 ounces, a little shy of the normal golden puppy weight of 17 ounces, Martin said. "One little girl was smaller, at eight ounces. She's a screamer and a fighter and will push all her big brothers around."

Rare albino raccoon haunts Chicago area

RIVERSIDE, Ill. -- With ghostly white fur and gripping claws, an elusive creature creeping through trees has piqued the interest of a Riverside neighborhood.

Melinda Lehman and Jim Cybul live on the block where rumors were circulating about a strange, ghostly animal. No one had any clear idea of what it was. They said neighbors had spotted this thing, but no one ever got a good look at it.

“About a month ago, we began hearing about a white creature,” Lehman said. “It became an urban legend — it was seen in the neighbors lawn and trees and someone saw it in their back yard.”

Someone said it was not a raccoon or a badger, but it looked familiar, like a fuzzy cat.

“(One neighbor) drew a conclusion that wild cats were mating with opossums and this was now the result,” Cybul said. “Of course, we all laughed hysterically at this.”

On Oct. 23, Cybul was barbecuing in his back yard when he saw something walk down the driveway. It was clearly a raccoon, but it was white.

“We have proof of what it is and researched it,” Cybul said. “Albino raccoons do appear physically different as opposed to the average raccoon.”

Scott Garrow, wildlife biologist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, said it is an unusual animal, but albino mammals do exist.

Normally, albino animals are not seen in the wild because they don’t survive, according to Garrow.

GateHouse News Service

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